The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1887-05-13
SOME RIVER ROMANCES.S
"REMINISCENCES OF THE GLoRiES
OF MISSISSIPPI STEAMBOATS,.

The curious pranks of the great river that
sweeps past this city have always been viewed
with suspicion and alarm by the government
engineers and municipal authorities When
st. Louis was small town the river made a
bold and almost successful attempt to cut q
new channel three miles east Of its present
course. The effect of this would have been to
leave the city "high and dry" and it is to the
active intelligence and engineering skill of
Lieut.. R. E. Lee that the city owes its present
harbor
The Mississippi forms semi-circle about
st. Louis, and the territory thus inclosed has
a water frontage of fourteen miles The
levee extends from Carondelet on the south
to the water works on the north, along the
entire water front of the city. Only about
five miles of it is improved, and this portion
is directly in front of the business part of the
city. The site of st. Louis was originally.
succession of natural terraces, reaching back
two miles from the river Then the ground
sloped downward and was cut UP by deep ra-
vines and covered with numerous ponds. The
river front in the vicinity of the present bridge
was originally high bluff, and the early in
habitants had nothing to fear, from high
water. This bluff has been cut down for
miles and its base transformed into levee.
The street directly facing the water was
called Front street, but now, since
its glory has departed, it is known
as the Levee The improved portion of the
st. Louis levee is an inclined plane, paved
with stone, extending from the street level to
the water. The distance from the apex to
the water depends on the mood of the river.
The plane is paved fully 800 feet, and the
water is i'll very low stage when the bed BE-
lnxu %I,a,N o,,t, g A. 49,
clined plane extends for nearly five miles in
front of the bus ness portion, and the i'm
provements cost $3000.000.
1t is on this levee that the remnant of the
great river business that made the city is now
transacted. River traffic has dwindled to
about 10 per cent. of its ante bellum volume.
The gold and glory in steamboating has van
shed, and now old river men spend most of
their time describing the Augustan age of
the steamboat on western waters, the period
from 1915 to 1860.
The first steamboat that arrived in st.
Louis was the Z-lulen M. Pike. in 1917. In
184S the river trade had grown TO such huge
proportions that 8, 46S boats aIFiyed in the
,arbor. In 1859 more steamboats, arrived III
St. Louis than i'll New Orleans Cincinnati
and Pittsburg combined. The Missouri river
trade was then an item of vast Importance.
and there We're half a dozen we'll equipped
lines OH that river. To-day there is one; line.
Railroads killed the river business, and. by
building up the western cities almost throttled
the trade of st. Louis. --
The Missouri bank of the Mississippi, al
most the entire length of the. state, is one
chain of bluffs. The Illinois side, fromA Al
ton to Cairo. is flat and low, and between
these two towns lies the famous American
bottom. The bottoms vary from three 10
six miles in width, from'the low bank of TN.
river to the eastern bluffs and are 200 n''
long, conta. ming 5000, ,OO0 acres of the most
fertile soil i'll the world The river, especially
in the vicinity of st. Louis, is, inclined to
sweep over these acres, and to protect them
great dikes and levees have been Constructed
on the eastern bank. Directlyin front Df
this city was once a famous Island, called
''BIoody Island" on account Of the n1any
fatal duels fought there. 1t was there Sena-
tor Thomas H. Benton killed Charles
d. Lucas, and ex Governor Thomas Rey-
nolds, who recently committed suicide,
shot B. Gratz Brown. This island Avas
in the center of the river, and as the current
flowed toward the Illinois side the people of
the city arose one morning in 1897 and found
a sand bar extending from the Missouri side
to the island, and almost the whole volume
of water flowing between "Bloody Island"
and Illinois. The government was appealed
to, and Lieut.. Robert E. Lee was sent out
here in charge of the works. He Heconstructed
dikes on the Illinois shore and at the head of
"Bloody Island" and gradually turned the
water back toward the st. Louis side until
the sand bar YVES washed away,k and after
ward the entire river was thrown over
against this city. "Bloody Island" is now a
portion of the main land, and the greatest
part of East st. Louis is located ON it.
Baked at this point the river cut into Illinois
below the city. In 1856 Fort Chartres was
one mile and quarter directly east from the.
river bank. To day the river runs over the
spot where the old fort stood. 4
The largest dixie in this vicinity is the Madis
son county, Ills, dixie, which extends from a
point opposite the mouth of the Missouri to
East st. Louis This varies from twenty to
thirty feet i'll height and about the same in
width. Itprotects the lands from any ordi-
nary rise in the river, but there, is nothing
that can protect them from an extraordinary
rise The Madison county dixie ktoke in 1882
and in one night an avalanche of water
ten feet in height swept : over the
American bottom for 100 miles, destroying
stock, crops and human life. THE earliest
old document in Kaskaskia, the oldest settle
ment in the state, and situated on the '"bot-
toms" This flood occurred in 1924 and the
water extended to the bluffs. In 17s5 ter
rife food occurred and the mighty stream
spread over wilderness six miles wide and
tenanted only by wild beasts and a few In
dians and settlers. The year was known to
the French inhabitants as ''L'annee des
grandes eaux."
In 1874 the river rose forty feet above low
water mark and inundated the entire Ameri-
can bottom. Houses, fences and crops were
all swept away. Levees were destroyed and
warehouses on the banks collapsed. :
The peculiar action of the river was illus
trated about twenty years ago in remark
able manner. Opposite the southern por-
tion of the city was spot of dry land in
the stream called Arsenal Island. It was
beautiful SPOT, and syndicate purchased it
from the city at round price, intending to
make a summer resort of it. This was in
1862. In the next three years the river had
carried away 300 feet off the northern end.
In 1870 the island had been moved four
blocks down the river and half OF it had DIS
appeared. To-day there is not vestige OF it
to be seen, and the syndicate never realized
anything on the investment.
The most exciting event IN tne history VI
the river was the famous race between the
r. E. Lee and the Natchez, in July, 1870.
River racing was then popular with captains
and owners of fast boats, but subsequently,,
owing to the number of terrible casualties ii
precipitated, racing lost its attraetiyeness
and is now almost unheard OF. The Lee anu
Natchez were recognized as the fastest boats
ON the river and the speed of each had long
been subject OF dispute. The admirers OF
the Natchez asserted that she could beat the
Lee in a race of any distance under equnl
conditions. The partisans OF the magnlfi,
cent Lee were equally certain that their
boat was the swiftest craft, ami
although no formal challenge between tiie
captains passed, it was understood that q trial
of speed would take place on the ist OF July.
on which date both boats were advertised 70
leave New Orleans for st, Louis The Lee
hal perfected every arrangement to WIN, ana
instead OF stopping to '.wood nj, )" as usual,
was met by a tender and the pine knots ana
wood tossed to the boiler deck wllile the hoa's
were running at full speed.
The whistle of the Lee signaled the starr o.
the morning OF the 1st Of July, and a IN